Superintendent Search

The Board-approved contract for Dr. Virginia Kelsen can be viewed HERE.

The Oxnard Union High School District Board of Trustees has completed the Executive Search for the District's next Superintendent. Leadership Associates, an executive search firm, was selected to advise the Board in this important process.

The OUHSD Board of Trustees provided the following statement on June 7, 2026:

Dear OUHSD Family,

The Oxnard Union High School Board is making HERstory with the announcement of the selection of Dr. Virginia Kelsen as our finalist for the Superintendent position. The motion was made by Trustee Estrada and seconded by Vice President Flores-Haro with a vote of 5-0. 

We are excited for our new Superintendent to continue the incredible work around equity, inclusion, and wellness pending the confirmation of her appointment at the regularly scheduled board meeting on June 24th, 2026.

We are grateful to have Dr. Kelsen continue to lead the Oxnard Union High School District with the Board on behalf of students, staff, families, and our community.

“I promise to work harder than anybody you could imagine. I’m honored to serve every student, their family, and the community,” Dr. Kelsen said after the announcement was made on Sunday, June 7th, 2026.

Sincerely, 

The Oxnard Union High School District Board of Trustees

The OUHSD Board of Trustees thanks you for your help in selecting our next superintendent. To ensure the process was collaborative and inclusive, The Leadership Associates survey was sent to all staff, students, and parent contact emails in the OUHSD, as well as all feeder districts, numerous community groups,  DELAC, clinics, city leadership, indigenous populations (those without a written language had their surveys conducted by phone) and many more resulting in 504 individual survey submissions. 

Multiple forums and panels were hosted by Leadership Associates for input about the kind of person the OUHSD community would like to see as Superintendent, including:

• In-person community forums
• OUHSD Staff Forums (online)
• Numerous School Site Forums
• OUHSD Student Trustee Input Session
• DELAC Forum
• City Council Member Input Session

The Superintendent Profile which was assembled based on survey and forum responses can be found HERE. 

By law, the Board is solely responsible for hiring the new Superintendent. The Board sought, received, and considered all received input from the community with the help of Leadership Associates, reviewed all applications, and interviewed candidates they felt met the criteria to be Superintendent of the Oxnard Union High School District based on the data collected during the Special Board Meeting on June 7, 2026.